Since our boat was scheduled to leave at 6:30, the day started before dawn. I don’t sleep well anyway when I’m concerned I won’t get up in time for something exciting. We ate some breakfast and dressed and checked and re-checked our backpacks and dry bag to make sure we had everything we would need for the long day ahead.

The sun had just peeked over the water as we rode our bikes along the little bike path through the beach cemetery and along the beach toward the dive shop. I had never seen so many people out and about so early on Caye Caulker, the pier was already full of people. Excitement rippled through the air in anticipation of the day ahead. The government officials everyone calls ‘the fisheries people’ were already checking a boat. They would check our spears and our boat to make sure no one had any Lionfish already aboard in an attempt to boost their count. Bert arrived not long after us (on Belizean time) and Christian helped bring loads of dive gear from the shop to the boat. They use a wheelbarrow to haul thing the 100 yards or so between the beachfront shop and the pier. Diving is a very equipment intensive sport with of course the air tanks, but also BCDs (the vests we wear), regulators (with the mouthpiece), weight belts (so we won’t float to the top), wetsuits, fins, booties (to make the fins fit comfortably), bags of fruit and water for between dives and then of course everyone’s personal collection of towels, dry clothes, cameras, snacks, etc. When we were completely loaded the fisheries people checked our boat and a volunteer was assigned to us. Anna from Indiana would spend the day with us, she’s a young marine biologist who works for Blue Ventures, a part of the organization Oceana, who does research in the Caribbean and works in various ways to promote conservation of the reefs. The volunteers would keep records of where and how many Lionfish we killed to give them valuable information on the health of the reef. They also would make sure we didn’t violate basic rules of the Derby like not killing any other type of marine life during the tournament.

We were finally cleared to head out to sea at 7:27, meaning we had to return to the pier no more than 8 hours later, or by 3:27. Mornings on a dive boat are always fun with an electric atmosphere, but this morning seemed particularly so. We settled in for the hour boat ride to Spanish Bay, where we had had so much luck with Lionfish a few days ago. We passed St. Georges Caye, which was the original capital of the country and the site of battles between the Spanish and English for control of the country several hundred years ago. They still have a few original cannons perched on the beach that we could see as our boat passed closely by the small island. This was the site of the last battle of the English against the Spaniards in 1798 for control of the country. England was victorious and Belize became the only English speaking country in Central America. The area they call Spanish Bay is presumably where the Spanish ships gathered for the fight, just east of St. Georges Caye but inside the reef where the water is calmer.

We wasted no time preparing for the dive. Bert came up front to lay out his plan of attack for the day, basically we would divide and conquer. When we were ready to go, he maneuvered the boat carefully through the reef and we rolled in one at a time. Christian and I had not even descended all the way when we saw Zach below us motioning that he saw two Lionfish and Christian should hurry down.

So the dive began. On one hand we were thrilled to see so many Lionfish, this was a competition and we were removing them from the reef. On the other hand, the invasive presence of the fish never ends. Of course in that moment, getting as many as possible for this collection of very competitive people was all we were focused on.

We swam through beautiful coral canyons with the same colorful fish, various kinds of eels, turtles, lobster, crabs, and sharks as before, but today was different. For the first time since I’ve been diving these beautiful creatures were not the focus, we only had eyes for Lionfish. I will admit, I saw a couple of things I couldn’t help but video along the way, but other than those isolated events, I was on the lookout for Lionfish also. The lovely fish like to hover near coral formations or rock ledges. They don’t swim unless threatened so are pretty easy targets since they typically only swim when touched. As they are approached, they flare out their beautiful but venomous spines, which is where they get their name, but this is the only defense mechanism they usually need since they have no natural predators. Sharks are not prevalent in this area as in some others, so we had no competition from predators that had been taught to eat Lionfish as we had encountered in other places.

The guys were having a ball shooting the Lionfish just as fast as they could. The fact that you have to avoid the venomous spines and carefully store them in the zookeeper (the pvc-like tube with the special opening) was the only thing that slowed them down. Susan and I also got in on the fun looking for Lionsfish and alerting the guys when we saw one. We spent the majority of the dive above 50 feet, which is the only thing that saved our air from running out in just a few minutes since we were all swimming wildly, exerting a lot of energy and so breathing more deeply than usual.

By the time we surfaced we had 45 Lionfish! That was more than on both dives combined the other day. We couldn’t get on the boat fast enough to start talking about the exciting dive. Each person talked louder than the next to be heard and we laughed and talked, hardly taking a breath in between. The cloudy, windy day chilled us to the bone while we were wet, but chattering teeth and shaking shoulders couldn’t even dampen our moods. After they brought the boat carefully back inside the reef for the surface interval (because the water was much calmer) Bert and Christian decided they would just swim on this side of the reef with their spears to see if any Lionfish were hanging out over here. They reported seeing large lobsters walking across the sandy bottoms, but no Lionfish in site. Everyone had brought snacks to share since we weren’t willing to sacrifice any Lionfish for ceviche today. We feasted on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, homemade brownies, trail mix, fruit, and candy bars. And of course the small bags of water made it complete.

We monitored our time closely and returned to the water for our second dive as soon as we safely could. The second dive was much like the first, except we became even more efficient. Susan carried the zookeeper and went quickly to anyone who had a Lionfish on his spear. The second dive ran even smoother than the first. Time seemed to fly as we moved through canyons and along walls of coral looking for Lionfish in their favorite hiding places. Before we knew it, we were back on the boat. Bert had stowed 3 extra air tanks onboard in case time allowed for a third dive. We were using energy (and therefore air) so quickly at a relatively shallow depth that allowable bottom time was not a problem. So it was decided that Bert, Christian, and John would do the third dive alone since they were killing the most fish. We waited out the interval inside the reef and as soon as they could, the guys rolled back into the water. Susan, Jane, and I took the chance to dry off completely and get back into our dry clothes. It was the first time in hours I had been really warm since the clouds overhead were thickening and the wind had not quit. This is normally not weather in which we would even consider diving, but competitive steaks had come out of all of us and we were willing to do whatever it took for the sake of the Lionfish Derby.

When the guys surfaced, they hardly had time to stow the equipment and sit down before Bert took off for Cay Caulker in order to meet our 8 hour deadline. The ride back was pretty rough thanks to the wind whipped waves but we just all sat quietly and endured it. At least I was warm, Christian and John were soaking wet and shivering in the wind of the speeding boat.

We arrived back at the pier with 20 minutes to spare. We could see the enormous (by Caye Caulker standards) crowd on the beach where teams were returning and the fish were being counted, measured, and weighed. Christian and Mike brought our cooler full of fish up to the beach. We were no less excited now than we had been all day. From what we could see initially, most of the teams had not done nearly as well as us. As it turned out, we had the most fish of any boat with our count being 105. But the number of fish was divided by the number of divers to get the average and one other team had a slightly better average putting us into second place. Of course, that didn’t matter to us at all. You’d have thought we had just won the Super Bowl as happy as were with our catch. Our longest fish was just a centimeter shorter than the one that won that category but we did actually have the heaviest fish.

We went home to shower and change and returned to the sport bar (the sponsor of the Derby) where they were having a Lionfish tasting. Our excitement from the day didn’t wear off and we talked about little else all night.

I always say “perfect ending to a perfect day”, but this day may really be hard to top. And no doubt it’s one that none of us will soon forget.

We had “the day off” today from diving. We knew the forecast was for rain so we dove yesterday to “practice ” for tomorrow’s Lionfish Derby. We slept in and had a late breakfast with John and Susan at home. They call their beautiful home here ‘Sandcastle’. The name fits the architecture of the house with its tall, narrow towering main structure and the deck off the main flour with a twisted wood railing and fishing net to fit the island environment. Large, wide winding steps lead from the deck to the tiled area leading in one direction to the pool and in the other direction to our apartment. There is not another home on the island this uniquely beautiful, and the soft greens and browns they’ve chosen blend perfectly with the lush greenery of the landscape. I can’t imagine staying in a more lovely spot, especially when we also have wonderful hosts.

We took some time to ride around town on our bikes as we do everyday. I’m beginning to think more about the fact that we only have a few days left of this since golf carts are the preferred mode of transportation on the bigger island of Ambergris Caye. I love coming here and riding a bike everyday in a town that is friendly to both bikes and pedestrian traffic. With no hills here, the bikes are old style with no gears and high handlebars so that I don’t have to lean over and bear too much weight on my left arm.

In the afternoon John and Christian went to the village council for the meeting concerning the Lionfish Derby tomorrow. There are an unusually large number of rules for Belize, and they want to make sure we are compliant. They also learned a lot about lion fish, some we knew and some we didn’t. But the most important fact is still that they are invasive and harmful to the reef with no natural predators. They are efficient killers of small fish and multiply at an unbelievable rate. So events like this are held to raise awareness and try to get more people interested in hunting Lionfish (which has certainly worked for us).

All that was left to do was to prepare for the next day’s dives. We would leave at 6:30 in the morning so packing up our dive stuff the night before was helpful. Can’t wait till the Derby tomorrow!

The morning was cool but bright. Belize has seen an unusual number of cool days so far this month but we weren’t gonna let that stop us. We put on long sleeves and headed for the dive shop. Bert, Zach, and Mike were all there getting ready for the day. We waited on the dock and Susan and I used the time wisely, we talked and talked.

We were finally ready to go (on Belize time of course) and we headed out to our spot for the day. Today’s dive was about an hour away and we passed several small, beautiful islands (called cayes here) on the way. When we arrived we stopped inside the reef to prepare for the dive. Our divemaster today was Bert, the owner of the shop. We were looking for Lion Fish again today, and John, Susan, Christian, and I were joined by John’s friend Lincoln and Jane (visiting from England). Once we were ready, the boat made its way carefully over, around, and through the reef. Waves breaking on the reef can be huge and it takes a skilled captain to maneuver from one side of the reef to the other. We reached the other side and started rolling in two by two. Bert, John, Lincoln and Christian all had spears and Susan and I were the spotters and videographers (Jane was along for the ride to watch and to see the marine life and coral). By the time Christian and I descended Lincoln had his first Lion Fish! This was going to be a good dive. We saw more Lion Fish than I had ever seen in one location. The guys were having a ball. It was a good thing Bert had brought the zookeeper, which is like a large tube of PVC pipe to store the lion fish in a way that the poisonous spines won’t touch anyone. Along with the lion fish we saw turtles, lobster, eels and even a few types of colorful fish I can’t remember seeing before. What we did not see was sharks, except one sleeping in an indention in the coral.

The first dive yielded around 12 fish and after the dive Mike promptly began to clean and filet them for ceviche. (After least after he cut up the fresh fruit for us to snack on). I don’t usually love ceviche, especially with raw fish, but this is honestly some of the best stuff I’ve ever had. Of course, unlike ceviche in a restaurant this is made up of about 90% fish and the lime, tomatoes, peppers, and spices only make it better. Lion Fish turns out to be a very mild white fish. Even raw I couldn’t taste any hint of the fishy flavor of stronger fish.

After a long surface interval we were ready for the second dive. We repeated the process and were soon underwater in a slightly different location. This dive turned out to be even more thrilling than the first. There were Lion Fish everywhere, so many that Bert even had to use the extension on the zookeeper. Bert fed a few lion fish to eels and even woke the sleeping shark to feed him one. The local divers are trying to get the eels and sharks to hunt the Lion Fish themselves in order to reduce the population, which has worked well so far in areas frequently hunted (and that’s why the sharks took our fish the other day). Christian found one fish in a small hiding place under a rock that a sea turtle was also using. When he shot the fish the turtle didn’t waste any time getting out of there. It’s amazing how fast seemingly docile marine animals can be when they want to.

By the time we came up from the second dive we were all excited about all we’d seen. Even Bert was excited about having been able to feed the eels, and he’s done thousands of dives here. We all talked over each in our excitement and the chatter didn’t die down for quite a while and probably only because it’s hard to talk over the wind with the boat moving rapidly back toward Caye Caulker.

On our return to the dock, we couldn’t miss a chance to get a picture with our catch (even Susan and I got in on the fun as the official spotters). Bert cut the poisonous spines off the fish and we took some home for dinner. Lincoln offered to go the fishing boats on the west side to get some fresh lobster and Susan and I planned the side dishes. When we returned home the guys cleaned and filleted the fish. Carol, who rents a cottage on the property, brought fresh baked bread from the Italian restaurant and we had a feast. More importantly than the food, we had so much fun laughing and talking for hours. It really was the perfect end to a perfect day.

But I think I say that everyday here….

Without planning it out loud, we both agreed today would be kind of a lazy day. When I was a kid we’d get a day now and then that my Mom would call a lazy day, meaning there was absolutely nothing we were required to do and we could choose to lay around all day or do something fun. We did love those days, and they were all the more special because they didn’t seem to come around often. So we started off the day with a big breakfast in our apartment to which we invited our friendly host. John’s wife, Susan, would be arriving by plane today and while always jovial, John was in an extra good mood.

We rode our bikes to town to get some more fresh juice after we depleted our supply at breakfast. On the road we happened to see the man who was stuck in San Ignacio in the fog with us. He was actually staying in San Pedro but had ridden the water taxi over for the day to see the island. We chatted with him for a while before we decided to go in search of one of our favorite restaurants from last year. We found Maggie’s and we also found a spot to feed the tarpon from a pier. We bought a bag of small fish from a local lady. She also handed us a bucket and told us it was to fill with water and throw at the Pelicans. What?! It wouldn’t take us long to understand what she meant by that. We walked out onto the pier and the pelicans wasted no time scooting as close as they could to us. We could see the large tarpon in the water below. Greenish or silver, some of them looked to be at least 5 or 6 feet long. It became a game for Christian to actually try to feed a tarpon without the birds getting the fish first. Christian has fed tarpon before and we loved seeing the huge fish jump out of the water and take the fish out of his hand, but this time the entertainment was the birds.

After we were done with the tarpon we rode around the split some, just to see what’s going on. Then back to our apartment. I spent a little time editing videos and finally it was time to meet Susan’s plane. There happened to be another lady who lived on the island picking up her husband from the same flight. She and her husband are from Mississippi also and now own a lovely boutique inn on the beach called the PuraVida Inn. The plane was a little delayed so stood and chatted for a while. The small plane finally came in and we collected Susan. After she settled in we all headed to the split for lunch at Paradisio Cafe. After lunch we stopped at the local animal shelter run by the guy who also repairs bikes. John and Susan wanted to stop and talk so Christian and I were more than happy to play with the dogs and cats. I even got to bottle feed a 22 day old kitten who’d been abandoned by its mother! The next stop was the sports bar to officially sign up for the Lion Fish Derby on Saturday. We had some questions about the rules so we talked with Scott, the owner, for a while. Last stop was by the little dive shop to apprise Bert, our team captain, of all we had learned. John and Susan headed home while Christian and I couldn’t resist the call of the delicious gelato at the split. We sat on the crumbling sea wall and watched both the view and the mix of people for a while.

We finally headed home. We spent time at the pool relaxing and I worked more on videos. Lunch had ended up mid-afternoon so we didn’t want any supper. So a lazy night ended our lazy day. Tomorrow we are scheduled to go out to Turneffe to dive and it looks like the weather is going to cooperate. Lazy days here are just as fun as busy days – we haven’t seen a really bad day here yet!

 

Today was one of those fun unplanned but full of plans kind of day. We didn’t have to do anything in particular but there were lots of things I wanted to do. So we started out at the House of Fry Jacks for breakfast and a little ride through town. The wind was calm and the weather perfect so we decided to do some kayaking. We returned home to change and invite John and we all 3 set out to the split. Once we had our kayaks, we headed through the split up the less inhabited and totally off the grid north end of the island. Hurricane Hattie is said to have caused a small slit in a very narrow part of the island in 1961, so instead of trying to build the land back up, the local authorities decided to dredge the gap out wider to allow easier access from one side of the island to the other by boat. Even now the north end is only accessible by boat and although power is in the works there will still be no water. Right now the few houses on this end use either solar panels or generators and must have some type of rain catchment system for water. We kayaked first up the western side past mostly mangroves with the occasional spot cleared for a house and dock. We explored little natural coves formed by the mangroves and looked for seahorses (which are known to attach themselves to the roots). We saw a variety of fish hiding in the mangroves and large conch shells were clearly visible though the shallow crystal clear water. After going part of the way up the long western side we returned to the split. From there we found a sandy spot on the north end where we could pull the kayaks up and explore some by foot. There is a trail leading roughly up the middle of the island, and in some narrow spots we could see the water on both sides. There were more very small houses scattered around the island than we’d expected (since those were more inland and couldn’t be seen from the water). We continued up the path until some very loud, unhappy dogs began barking. Not being sure if they were restrained we decided to turn around. Once back to the kayaks John decided that an hour and a half was enough for him while Christian and I headed up the eastern (reef) side to explore a little more. We found several giant starfish along the way and once again explored a few of the little coves inside the mangroves. I was having a great time until Christian asked if I knew where the crocodiles were fed? Wow! I’d almost forgotten about that, there is a little lagoon on this side where boats enter with tourists to see all the crocodiles. Of course they aren’t actually enclosed, and we were getting closer to the lagoon entrance. Suddenly every bump on the surface of the water became crocodile eyes to my mind. I was ready to turn around. Maybe that had been Christian’s plan all along since he was doing most of the paddling and we were going against the current! But we turned and let the wind push up most of the way back while enjoying the view of the turquoise water and waves breaking over the reef in the distance. Once back across the split we floated around the small bay before returning. We spotted John sitting at the new gelato place on the beach with the incredible views of the water. We turned our kayaks in and headed over to meet him. The gelato place (along with the pizza restaurant adjoining it) is owned by friends of John’s from Italy. Anna let us sample her delicious gelato before deciding on a flavor. They import all the ingredients from Italy and make it fresh daily and we couldn’t get over how rich and creamy it was, the best I’ve ever had (and of course the spectacular views at the table doesn’t hurt).

After kayaking around the north end we decided to bike around the southern tip of the island. John warned us that some people have spotted crocodiles on the path so we should have our camera ready. (Although I personally don’t think I’ll be worried about my camera if I come upon a crocodile.) The southern tip of the island is less developed and also completely off grid with no plans in the foreseeable future for either electricity or water. There is a small, poorly groomed bike path that reaches the west side of the island we intended to follow. Of course we came to a place where the path was almost nonexistent and we took a wrong turn that landed us in trees so thick we had to get off our and fight through the thick undergrowth back to the path. There are actually some nice houses along the way here. They are off the grid but the views of the Caribbean and reef are unbeatable. There was one large house with a sea wall made entirely of conch shells. It includes 9 acres and is right on the ocean with a long pier. It had a for sale sign that tells us the house is called Hamaruba (dumbest name I’ve ever heard I think) but they also claim to have a website Hamaruba.com (someone else told us it was .net but we couldn’t find either).

Parts of the path were under water deep enough that a small crocodile could’ve been hiding in it and we never would’ve known. So once again every bump on the water became crocodile eyes to me. I’m not opposed to seeing a crocodile from a boat but meeting one up close from a kayak or bike doesn’t sound fun to me. So while Christian walked his bike through the water, I rode mine until the mud got so deep I all but fell over and had no choice but to walk through the thick black mud. We finally reached the western end of the airstrip and made our way back to our apartment.

This had been a somewhat tiring day so we sat out by the pool to relax for a while. We were eventually joined by John and then another friend of his named Lincoln who was on his way home after a day of diving. We rode our bikes to Bahia, a neighborhood on the west side of the island to see Lincoln’s home. Dinner was at a place around the corner (owned by a man originally from Georgia) with the reputation for having the best burgers on the island. After good food and conversation it was time to return to our apartment. Today turned out full of excitement. But really there are no bad days here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now because I am saved I believe Jesus is with me everyday when I dive, but today there was an Israeli man who joined our dive group who looks so much like depictions of Jesus that the guys in the dive shop started calling him that right away. But I’ll get to that in a minute.

We woke up to blue skies and almost no wind- perfect day for diving. The air still had a chill. Temperatures in the low to mid 60’s at night is unusually cold for Belize, and every morning we see the locals wrapped up like Mississippians in a snow flurry. We dressed and headed for the dive shop. John stopped at the taco stand for his breakfast burrito before we rode the last block to the dive shop and put our bikes in the “parking lot” behind the shop. We talked to Bert, the dive shop owner, and the Ricardo and Mike for a few minutes and then headed to the dock. The crew made their way to the boat with all the gear and we were set. Diving with us today was a friendly 30-something software engineer from South Carolina who is in Belize traveling alone and a man from Israel who had thickly accented English and brown sun-streaked hair a little past his shoulders worn in a dreadlock like style (but really it was more just matted hair than dreadlocks). He looked to be somewhere in his 30’s but it was hard to tell with his dark, sun weathered skin and scruffy beard. He wore a jacket made of material we would associate with a Mexican blanket along with loose pants and no shoes.

As we left the pier Jesus (his real name was something that began with Al-ba???- Jesus was definitely easier to pronounce for us and he didn’t seem to mind the nickname), anyway, he tried on his wetsuit and was unhappy with the fit. Now to the eyes of everyone onboard it looked to fit perfectly but he insisted he wanted a bigger one and that the captain should turn around and go get one. This was only his first decidedly un-Jesus-like demand. The dive crew was irritated and asked if Jesus just wanted to walk on the water to go back and get it (that was a pretty good one), but it did not break awkward atmosphere that had enveloped the boat. So we docked and Mike ran (literally RAN) quickly back to the shop to get another wetsuit. After he was back onboard Bert wanted him to try it on, which Jesus did not want to do. After a little arguing, Jesus relented and tried it on, saying it was fine with a bit more passive attitude after the disruption he had caused. He explained that he’d had a terrible dive accident in the pasta involving a tight wetsuit. We all looked at each other, no one had ever heard of a wetsuit causing a dive accident, but he didn’t seem to want to explain further so we left it at that and rode in silence.

The water was smooth today and a magnificent turquoise blue color. We approached the
larger island of Ambergris Caye where we would stop to get the air tanks refilled. After the tanks had been replaced we dressed for the first dive. The spot on the reef we would be visiting today was called Esmerelda. Once we were dressed we made our way through the reef (the reef is even closer to the island here) and somehow the captain found the spot he was looking for. They use a navigation system but they also seem to know by sight when they’re at exactly the right spot, but one patch of gorgeous water looks exactly like the next to me.

We descended into deep canyons of coral and the first thing I noticed were the numerous sharks swimming around. They’re all nurse sharks, which are considered by some to be the puppy dogs of the sea, not afraid of humans but not harmful to us either. In this dive spot, the sharks seem to have learned that divers sometimes kill lion fish which they then want to steal and eat so they follow us wherever we go. If we stop to look into an opening in the coral the sharks immediately also try to look into that opening, they appear to be very smart. We saw several large eels, huge lobster, and an enormous variety of brightly colored fish. Our group was even lucky enough to spot cuddle fish (very rare here) and 2 huge majestic spotted eagle rays passing through. What we had trouble spotting was lion fish though. Christian found a small one and speared it. Four sharks immediately surrounded him and ate the lion fish right off the spear. When he found a second lion fish hiding in a crevice, he got his spear ready for a shot. When the sharks saw him do this they tried to bump him aside to get to the lion fish first. Unfortunately their large snouts can’t get deep enough into the crevice to get him, Christian pushed a huge shark out of the way but the lion fish had retreated deeply into the crevice and he was no longer able to see him. All this may sound like a fish story but luckily I got it on video and I can’t wait to go through the videos and pick out the exciting parts. The second dive was similar to the first and each dive lasted nearly an hour, so by the time we were done we were all exhausted but excited by all we’d seen.

We returned to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye for lunch. Jesus was looking for a place to smoke (smoke what we didn’t ask) so he didn’t join us for lunch. The day had turned warm and sunny with almost no wind. We sat at an outside table on a quaint street in town and I had a delicious lunch of freshly caught grilled snapper and Christian had the traditional stew chicken dish (they don’t say stewed like we would- it’s stew chicken). We returned to the boat for the ride over the incredibly calm water back to Caye Caulker. It had been an exciting dive day.

When we returned to the island and stopped by the fruit stand to get several liter bottles of freshly squeezed juices (orange, pineapple and grapefruit) Christian and I decided to rent a kayak with the few hours of remaining daylight we had. John opted out of this particular adventure, so after we returned to our apartment to put our dive things away we hurried back to town.

We rented a clear bottom kayak for an hour and paddled through the split and around the backside of the island. The sun was sinking low in the sky and there are great sunset views from the backside. There’s also a small inlet where the tarpon are giant and are accustomed to being fed so they swam right up to the kayak where we could see them through the clear water. Back around the split and onto the reef side of the island I spotted a large eagle ray jump out of the water and there were also groups of giant shells on the sand below (like the ones we see in Florida gift shops). A large orange sea star we spotted just before returning made the trip complete. We returned to get John for dinner and then Christian and I went to the wine bar for some great live music.

I’m not sure if we can top this perfect day, but we’re gonna have fun trying!

The day dawned bright but still cool and breezy. We’d planned to go diving and so since the sun was out we ate a little something in our apartment and headed out. We got to the dive shop around 8:30 and filled out necessary paperwork and got ready. We wandered down to the pier and waited for the dive master and captain to get the boat ready. We were joined by three 20-somethings from Israel. They were traveling around Central America for several months during what they called their “army trip”. They had all served short stints in the Israeli army and it was a common thing to travel after that time and they told there were lots of young Israelis here doing the same thing. We didn’t ever really understand if they just get a some sort of bonus after time served and it’s common to travel, or that is actually part of what the army does for them.

We were a little delayed leaving (we are on Belizean time after all), but we finally boarded the boat and headed out. The wind was still blowing in cool and it felt even cooler riding the boat. The water inside the reef was not too rough. The Reef breaks a few hundred yards off shore and protects the island from the very large waves. The Mesoamerican Reef extends from Cancun to Honduras making it the 2nd longest reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef and runs close to both Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye in Belize. There are hundreds of dive spots along the reef, many of which are no more than a 20 minute boat ride from the island. We stopped just inside the reef where the water was calmer to prepare for the dive. We dressed and got our equipment ready and then braced ourselves to go outside the reef with the very rough water whipped up by the wind. We enter with a backward roll and were instantly warm in the 80 degree water which felt wonderful after the cool wind up top. We waited a few minutes for our group and descended. Christian, John, and Ricardo (the divemaster) all had spears hoping to find a few lion fish. The currents carried us along as we explored the formations and fish along the way. About halfway through the dive we encountered a large lion fish and Christian took a shot at it, unfortunately it got away but John got it with his spear. The lion fish are a beautiful but deadly fish to this ecosystem. They are an invasive species presumed to have been introduced when a public aquarium in Florida was destroyed during a hurricane. Female lion fish are said to be able to lay up to a thousand eggs at a time. The fish eat the same small fish that many native species eat, and so because they are a poisonous predator, the native fish have a decreased food source. So the governments of all countries along the reef or whose waters are affected (including the US) encourage hunting of lion fish in an attempt to control the population.

We returned to the boat and had 2 large lion fish. Ricardo and Captain Mike got busy cleaning them. Although their poisonous spines cause intensely painful reactions in humans, they are experienced enough to know how to handle them without getting stung (although they both admit to being stung several times when they started dealing with them and they relate terrible stories of the pain it caused). Between dives they cut the fresh watermelon and pineapple they had brought with them as well as lion fish ceviche and chips. The surface interval is usually one of my favorite parts of the day, especially with this spread, but because we were wet the wind seemed twice as cold and it took me at least half an hour to warm up.

Our second dive was much like the first. Same process and a nearby location. Christian had taken some ribbing during the surface interval from John and the crew about missing his first lion fish so he was more determined this time having learned from his mistakes (it’s not quite as easy as it looks). We descended and hadn’t been down but a few minutes when the first lion fish was spotted. Christian swam in close and took a very decisive shot that got the fish securely on the spear. The fish are beautiful, but knowing how destructive they are to the reef makes it easy to want to get rid of them. There were a few more lion fish sitings and they let the girl (Allison) and one of the guys in the Israeli group give it a try and one got it his first time while Allison missed twice. The rest of dive was spent trying to find lion fish (but honestly, I get distracted by all the different fish and the many lobsters we saw). We ascended reluctantly to the chilly air, but it had been a great dive day and the wind had died down some, so the short ride back to the pier was pretty smooth.

We immediately began thinking about our super bowl party when we returned to land around 3:00. We stopped by Chinatown where Christian and John waited (and waited and waited) for some food in the Chinatown restaurant while I got a few things in the connecting supermarket and headed home. We feasted on fried chicken and sweet and sour shrimp and John joined us in our apartment for the game. I made fruit salad from fruit picked this week in Belize. The pineapple, mango, bananas, and oranges all mixed together to make the sweetest, most delicious fruit salad I’d ever had. Perfect end to a perfect day.

Even from the moment I woke I could hear the rain falling softly in the palm trees outside my window. The usual pattern for rain here, as in most tropical places, is to be intermittent with periods of sun. I got up and fixed my hot tea and spent time on our screened in patio. I had to go back inside to get the quilt to wrap up against the cool morning air. When it had not stopped raining by 9:00 we decided we’d just go out in it since we had no food in the house. We put on our jackets and took our bikes out. The sandy streets were covered with puddles. They’re not exactly mud but a slimy wet sand. Our first stop was at Erolyn’s house of fry jacks. We have been here many times and know it’s delicious. A fry jack is like the best tasting fried dough you’ve ever had. Other places they serve them whole and they are fluffy but hollow. Erolyn opens it and stuffs it with countless combinations of eggs, beans, cheese, and meats. It is like a huge fluffy, crispy quesadilla with slightly sweeter dough. I’m kind of at a loss for how to describe them, except for “scrumptious”! (And only $1.50 each)

The rain was light now so we took the time to ride all through town to re-familiarize ourselves with the location of everything on front, middle, and back streets. We stopped at the bakery before it closed around lunchtime and got a fresh baked loaf of bread and some homemade tortillas. As the rain got harder we decided to complete our errands. We stopped at the fruit stand and got a liter bottle of the best tasting orange juice in the world. The son of the owner stands in the back and juices the fresh picked oranges to go in our bottle. I don’t like OJ is the states since having it here. And we also got a pineapple,a mango, bananas, and limes. Next stop was the supermarket. Our bike baskets were already getting full with fruit and bread but we thought we could cram a few more things in. We bought some basics- butter, jelly, eggs, and bacon among a few others. I had to rearrange a few times to make everything fit and we headed home. We were soaked as we pulled out bikes in and unloaded the groceries. John was working on the hot water heater so Christian went out to help him while I unpacked the baskets.

The rain was unusually relentless (not following the normal pattern for rain here), so we spent the remainder of the afternoon going over GoPro video footage we had taken and doing some editing. We even showed John how to use the editing app so we all got in on the fun. John’s adopted dog, Buddy, stayed close always looking for an ear rub. He’s so sweet and well-behaved and he somehow seems to be thankful John gave him a home after his owner abandoned him.

The rain was still falling at dinner time, but we decided we’d just have to get wet and set out in search of a spot for dinner. The first first few places we tried were closed, presumably because of the rain. Not many people were out so businesses here will close when they are slow. We finally found an open restaurant near the beach. It was totally enclosed but still had sand floors. I had the best grilled fish I’ve had in a very long time, while Christian and John had pasta (which is not available everyone on the island). The service was of course slow (Belizean style it seems), but it’s just not a big deal when you are in this atmosphere having fun and enjoying the company.

I can already feel myself relaxing and breathing deeper, and that is really what we are here for.

We had heard that a variety of birds could be seen in the rain forest behind the hotel early in the morning, so since this was our last morning here we got up before the sun and dressed and packed. By 6:30 we were on the large back veranda of the hotel with our binoculars ready to see some birds. We were afraid that the light rain may have kept them away, but we were up anyway, so it was worth a try. As we sat and watched, several species of birds flew through our “backyard”. They would come in as a small flock and land in the trees and no more that 5 minutes later the flock would start to leave in the opposite way from which they’d come, like these trees were just a few in a large line on breakfast buffet. We are not typically bird watcher types, so I didn’t know the species names for the variety of colorful birds. But 2 species in particular caught my eye (and camera) and Google helped me with the names, the black-headed Trojan and the Collared Aracari (a relative of the toucan). Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the famous keel-billed toucan of Froot Loops fame.

A little after 8 our shuttle left for the small airstrip outside town called Maya flats. When I say small I mean a 400 square foot building and 1 strip of concrete maybe 100 yards long. This airstrip is fairly new and the cute wooden structure had a wrap around porch with rocking chairs where we could wait for our plane. The view of the Maya mountains from the porch was a bonus, and we thought we’d get to enjoy it for a few minutes before we left. Little did we know the fog that had settled over the tops of the mountains would delay the tiny planes that rely heavily on sight to fly safely over the mountains. So we settled in and talked and laughed with the 5 other passengers who were scheduled for our flight for what would be a 3+ hour delay. The reasons we decided to fly for this leg of our trip were both to save time, and because to hire a driver for the long drive to Belize City followed by a water taxi ride to reach the island would be around the same price. But here we were fogged in with no way to contact our friend John, at who’s house we were staying on the island and was presumably waiting for us at the airport.

We finally left about 12:15 (after a 9:00 originally scheduled departure time) in a tiny plane that would hold about 12 passengers. The Tropic Air employee who oversaw boarding told us where to sit according to our final destination, he then reminded us to buckle up and thanked us for choosing tropic air- or at least I think that’s what he said, he was also closing the small door by hand as he talked. About 12 minutes into the flight, we made a brief stop in Belmopan (the Capitol) to pick up several more passengers, which filled us to capacity. Since we had waited 3 hours for the fog to lift enough to see the mountain tops (we wouldn’t want to be running into them), to fly much of the way in thick white fog was not comforting. I keep telling myself it would break before we reached Caye Caulker so the pilot could see to land. Of course I did use some of the 22 minute flight to familiarize myself with the safety information located in the seat pocket. The plane bumped along, dropping a little as it hit air pockets, eventually it began to drop lower and lower until the fog did start to break and I could see the sparkling blue water of the Caribbean below me as if it was close enough to touch. As we descended quickly I then told myself if we landed in the water at least I now knew how to work the emergency exits. About 2 seconds before the wheels touched down I saw land below us, we had finally reached Caye Caulker safely. We taxied to the other end of the runway where the small terminal building sat. The back door was opened and the small rolling staircase was pushed up beside the plane so we could exit. Our friend John was just emerging through the trees on a small path beside the airstrip on his bike. Because we had not been able to reach him, this was the 5th plane he’d met today. We were the only passengers to get off at this stop and the plane quickly turned and headed back down the runway to take the rest of the passengers to Ambergris Caye. Ours were the only bags on the luggage cart so we collected them there beside the runway. (Of course we were still required to turn in our small luggage claim tickets to get them) We followed John down the short sandy lane to his house, which is not more than a 5 minute walk from the airstrip. He has a beautiful, uniquely built house called Sandcastle tucked into a lot full of palms and lush tropical greenery. He has 2 units connected to the house for guests/renters. Our small apartment is just perfect with its rugged stone walls in the bathroom and separate living room and kitchenette with a large screen TV. We even have a small, private screened in patio just off the living room. We spent the rest of the day seeing the updates to the house since we’d been here last year, doing some laundry and catching up with John.

Evening brought a trip to the sports bar for “Friday night Jam”. Local musicians perform, but any tourists or guests who are musically inclined are welcome to join the jam and even are offered the use of the instruments of the locals. To say there were some talented people would be an understatement, the atmosphere in the packed room and dance floor was electric as one after another performer shared their talents with us. They played a variety of music, with classic rock being the genre of choice. I kept thinking how the Hebert’s would absolutely love this. I don’t consider my a great music lover, but this was awesome. We stayed for a couple of hours and then found a local place for dinner, it was open air with only 3 foot wooden sides to define the space, with sand floors and brightly painted picnic tables. I had fresh grilled lobster and Christian had grilled shrimp. John opted for the chicken ( I guess he eats seafood all the time anyway). We had plenty of time to visit with the very slow (Belize time) service. But the atmosphere was so perfect I didn’t mind.

We biked home in the light rain and the cool air. Today has been very cool for the island, dipping below 70. But with the constant sea breeze and the rain, we were chilled after the 5 minute bike ride home. But the changing weather is only part of the fun. Perfect start to our stay on this island paradise.

 

We started our day off with breakfast at Pop’s, you really can’t beat inexpensive homemade tortillas and refried bean and eggs, and then we spent some time exploring the town. San Ignacio (including the sister town of Saint Elena) has about 20,000 people and is considered a pretty large town here. You can see a little of the leftover colonial style of the British in the main streets. Near the Macall River, which separates the twin towns, is a vast market with fresh fruits and vegetables along with a variety of arts, crafts, and homemade oils and food. This is especially bustling on Saturday when the Mennonites, the Amish, and people from small villages for miles around all bring their produce to market.

In the afternoon we headed for Barton Creek to see the cavernous cave with the river running through it with our personable guide, Cruise. The 45 minute ride (to go 12 miles) to the cave through dirt roads in the rain forest was just as bumpy and treacherous as most of the jungle roads around here. The last few miles were narrow and directly down the side of a mountain. The site of the cave is beautiful with even a small restaurant and facilities for tourists. We all 3 sat in one long canoe with Cruise at the rear and me in front and in charge of the large spotlight. We crossed the large deep pool of crystal clear water leading to the tall, narrow mouth of the cave. Palm trees growing out of the sheer rock face curved toward the sun with vines hanging across the entrance. It looked like a scene setup for a Tarzan movie. Big, fat rain droplets began pattering softly on the surface of the water and through the trees. We glided quietly into the cave and were immediately under huge ribbon-like formations gleaming at us from 100 feet above. Even though we’ve been to several caves these formations were somehow very different. Different colors and more jagged on the tips. Although we had our cameras on this trip, the inky blackness make recording the experience almost impossible. In sections the stone ceiling was so low over our head we had to duck, and in other areas large car sized boulders were seemingly suspended from the ceiling and we had to squeeze beside them. We saw a cave spider as big as a salad plate and an indentation in the ceiling with a colony of fruit bats huddled inside. In about half a mile we came to the end, or at least as far as we could go. Reportedly, the river continues for at least 7 more miles mostly under the rock with occasional cavernous sections (that have been explored only by archaeologists who went in with scuba gear). The return trip was no less intriguing while I was using the big spotlight to see as much of the walls and ceiling as possible. Most of the Mayan artifacts discovered in this cave have been removed by the archeologists, but a few pieces of pottery can be seen on high ledges and even one skull that has become calcified almost into the rock.

The daylight slowly became visible, first as a small fissure and then as a discernible crack in the rock face. Rain pelted the water in a steady rhythm now as the canoe slid into the light of day. The trees of the rainforest kept us partially protected as we crossed the clear lake. We left and wandered around the beautiful grounds of the restaurant for a few minutes before we began the arduous trip back to the hotel.

We spent the next hour talking and laughing with Cruise as we questioned him about life in Belize and he questioned us about life in the states. He pointed out different crops and shared history about the different villages we passed through.

The day ended with dinner at Guava Limb Cafe, a small restaurant in town that boasts organic and healthy food. Their slogan is “slim and trim like the guava limb”. It was delicious, and we sat on a small, brightly painted balcony overlooking a serene park. We have loved our time in San Ignacio. There seems to be endless things to see and do here and we will definitely be back. But tomorrow we will be traveling to Caye Caulker, and we are looking forward to more adventure there.